‘Tis the season, Hornets!
My name is Analah Wallace, and I am The State Hornet’s current managing and diversity, equity and inclusion editor for the Fall 2025 semester. Since fall 2021, The State Hornet has held itself accountable by publishing diversity audits and evaluating the areas where we can use improvement.
My responsibilities as DEI editor include: auditing our publication’s coverage of centered sources, finding ways to improve our coverage of underrepresented communities and overseeing each section of our publication to ensure they’re covering these communities accurately, respectfully and consistently.
Note: “Centered sources” are defined as story coverage that centers around, highlights or includes the cultural context of underrepresented communities.
Updates since the previous audit
Since the previous audit, we’ve decided that there will be one comprehensive DEI audit uploaded at the end of each semester. This way, it will be easier to compare numbers to prior semesters, see the areas The State Hornet exceeds in and identify areas that can use improvement. This will also give a clearer view of which communities should be more prioritized next semester.
RELATED: LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Spring 2025 midway diversity audit
Audit results
Overall, about 23% of The State Hornet’s content since Aug. 28, 2025 has been diverse coverage. This time around, Multimedia has the highest ratio of DEI content to overall content produced, with 42% of their content being diverse coverage.
As of Dec. 3, out of the 286 pieces of content The State Hornet produced since Aug. 28, 2025, 66 of those pieces contained centered sources. Here is the breakdown of what makes up those 66 pieces of content.
Note: Some pieces count towards coverage of multiple communities, which is why the total is above 66.
Since the previous audit, The State Hornet has seen a decrease in its coverage of diverse communities by 7%, landing at 23% compared to last semester’s 30% diverse coverage ratio. Our coverage of the Hispanic/Latinx community has noticeably increased, while our coverage of the Black community has dipped.
Recommendations and goals
- The Sports section should be finding ways to highlight LGBTQIA+ athletes.
- In light of September being Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and the upcoming May being Mental Health Awareness Month, we should be sharing the stories of students with mental illness and how they navigate college life.
- The LGBTQIA+ community should be explored more in our non-writing sections, such as in the Multimedia and Podcast sections.
- We should prioritize increasing our coverage of cultural events on campus, such as the SWANA Center Festival and the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Academic Success Summit.
- With Black History Month right around the corner, we should remember to incorporate coverage of the Black and African American community as more of a constant staple in our coverage, not just during February.
Conclusion
I would like to commend The State Hornet for increasing its coverage on the disabled community and the Jewish community. Even the slightest increase can make a big difference. I am hopeful that with the spring 2026 semester and DEI continuing as a fully management role, we can further serve the Sac State community by emphasizing the very thing the campus prides itself on: diversity.
The State Hornet is committed to producing diverse content to reflect its audience. In giving a platform to underrepresented communities, we aim to promote cultural awareness, understanding and inclusivity.
